Superfast broadband funding help for Swansea businesses

FINANCIAL help is at hand for Swansea businesses who want to work more efficiently, attract new customers and make bigger profits.

A voucher scheme is now up and running across the city that gives small and medium sized businesses the chance to receive a grant of up to £3,000 to help them either install superfast broadband or speed up their existing broadband connections.

Swansea Council successfully applied to the Department of Culture, Media and Sport for the scheme to be extended to the city from the start of April this year. It’s also been made available across the Swansea Bay City Region as a whole.

Funded by Central Government, the grants cover wi-fi, fibre and Ethernet connections.

Cllr Robert Francis-Davies, Swansea Council’s Cabinet Member for Enterprise, Development and Regeneration, said: “These grants will give many businesses across Swansea Bay to chance to compete in the digital age.

“Faster internet connections can benefit businesses in so many ways, whether it’s improving the customer service they offer, having the capability to video conference, cutting down on travel expenses, downloading and uploading files much faster, working more from home or reaching new markets.

“Every business wants to be more productive and responsive to their customers, so it makes sense for them to apply for this grant assistance. Businesses to have already made the most of the grants in other parts of the UK have described superfast broadband as a real game changer that’s helped them save money and expand. We hope businesses across Swansea Bay will soon be following suit.”

The scheme has already been up and running in the Cardiff area for some time, so Swansea Bay businesses should visit www.digitalcardiff.net to apply or find more information for the time being.